For More Information Contact:
Maureen Phillips
Cleveland Medical Devices Inc.
P: 216.791.6720
mphillips@clevemed.com
www.clevemed.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLEVEMED ISSUES ONLINE UPDRS SCORING CHALLENGE TO HIGHLIGHT BENEFITS OF KINESIA™ AUTOMATED TREMOR SCORING
CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 24, 2009) -
Cleveland Medical Devices Inc. (CleveMed) announced the release of automated tremor scoring for
Kinesia™, a compact patient worn device for assessing
Parkinson’s disease (PD) motor symptom severity. To demonstrate the benefits of Kinesia and the new tremor scoring feature, CleveMed has launched the new interactive website
UPDRS.CleveMed.com.
The
CleveMed UPDRS Scoring Challenge is an online educational tool intended for movement disorder clinicians and researchers, patients, caregivers or anyone interested in motor symptom evaluations. The interactive site allows a visitor to view and rate a series of videos displaying
Parkinson’s disease patients performing tasks for
evaluating tremor. After each short video is complete, the user enters a score ranging from 0 to 4 and the next video starts. Once the twelve videos are scored, the user scores are compared to scores from two movement disorder specialists for the same videos to demonstrate variability. Scores are also compared to the automated scoring provided by
Kinesia.
Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms are typically assessed using the
Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), a qualitative rating scale in which clinicians visually assess patient tremor symptoms and assign a 0 to 4 score based on severity. The UPDRS is subjective and scoring can sometimes vary between clinicians or for the same clinician at different times.
Kinesia uses motion sensors worn on the hand and wirelessly transmits motor symptom information to a computer. Data is collected while patients follow computer based video instructions that guide them through various arm and hand movements. Tremor symptoms are assigned a 0 to 4 score and severity information can be tracked in patient reports. The
Kinesia system, used in conjunction with the UPDRS, provides a consistent and repeatable method of monitoring motor symptom severity. The device can also be used to monitor symptom fluctuations in a patient’s home over the course of days or weeks, which may assist clinicians in adjusting medication timing and dosage.
About CleveMed
CleveMed was founded with the goal of developing innovative telemetry devices for a variety of medical
applications. Today, CleveMed is developing and pioneering the use of novel wireless monitoring
systems for high growth neurology and rehabilitation applications, including
movement disorders and
sleep
disorders. Through these innovations, CleveMed has developed a growing range of
products that address the needs of the
medical,
research and
academic communities. For more
information, please visit
www.CleveMed.com